Investment Performance Data Specialist

Company:

Mercer

Description:

What can you expect:

This is an exciting opportunity to join one of Mercer’s largest and most rapidly-growing business areas – Investment Solutions. Mercer's Investment Solutions (IS) business provides sophisticated implementation and investment services to clients. The business has grown rapidly over recent years with $500bn of client assets now under management globally, c.$190bn of which is invested on behalf of International investors. Our Investor base is institutional and typically clients are DB/DC Pension Schemes but the business is expanding into new segments including Insurance & Wealth Management.  

Mercer’s fund range was launched in Europe in September 2006 and currently consists of c.140 Irish-domiciled funds across 5 legal structures. In addition to the ability to provide bespoke solutions to large clients, these funds provide building blocks to support Mercer’s wider range of investment and risk management solutions targeting the institutional marketplace.  Mercer IS business has seen significant growth over the last few years and believes that demand for its investment solutions will continue to grow over the coming years.

The Data Solutions Team sits within the Operations Unit and is responsible for data strategy and vision for Mercer IS, ensuring that data initiatives and practices align with broader business objectives.  This involves the coordination of multiple data owners and stakeholders, including Portfolio Management, Operations, Compliance, Technology, as well as third party service providers and vendors. The team is also responsible for undertaking and implementing business-wide initiatives and efficiency projects.  Our ultimate goal is to ensure our data is trustworthy – timely, accurate and complete.

Candidates will ideally have experience in data management as well as with performance process workflow and data needs. Reporting to the Global Investment Data and Performance Solutions Leader, the role will be dynamic and diverse, requiring an individual with strong technical, organisational, collaboration and communication skills.  A background in Funds/Asset Management with knowledge of inputs into portfolio performance will serve well in thought-partnering with our Performance Team.

We will rely on you for:

Strategic Business Partnership

• Collaborate with Performance Team to understand and deliver their specific capabilities and requirements, working closely with platform providers and technology teams to implement tailored, fit-for-purpose solutions.
• Partner with business teams to gain a deep understanding of performance workflows and develop innovative solutions and data support models that support these initiatives, driving growth at both local and global levels.

Roadmap, Delivery & Measurement:

• In partnership with the Performance Team, support the roadmap for the development of Mercer’s performance calculation & analysis capabilities, orchestrating impactful programs of work that transform operational practices.
• Prioritize and sequence activities within this roadmap in collaboration with business and technology colleagues, focusing on delivering immediate value while building long-term capabilities.
• Define relevant metrics and deliver dashboards to monitor progress and ensure alignment with strategic goals.

Collaboration and Culture:

• Foster strong partnerships and collaboration with business, data, and technology partners to ensure comprehensive understanding of data needs and capabilities within the Performance Team.
• Act as an ambassador for a data-driven culture at Mercer, promoting the importance of data in decision-making, risk management and operational efficiency.
• Maintain relationships with key stakeholders and vendors to align strategies with the specific needs of the Performance Team.

Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Collaborate with business and technology colleagues to identify opportunities for data and workflow innovation that advance the data strategy and position Mercer as a leader in the investment space.
• Create an environment that encourages continuous improvement, integrating this focus into the strategic backlog for data-related changes leveraging new tools and technologies including but not limited to AI

What you need to have: 

• 8-10 years of experience in data focused roles that require interactions between business and technology teams.
• Familiarity with data ecosystems, preferably in Asset and/or Wealth Management, and in relation to performance processes and critical inputs (accounting, pricing, benchmarks, etc).
• Results-oriented approach with a demonstrated ability to sympathize with the operational challenges of our business parters and stakeholders and drive change.
• Strong communication skills to convey concepts and business outcomes effectively.
• Interpersonal skills and desire to build and nurture relationships with key business partners.
• Ability to work under pressure while maintaining a results-oriented focus on agreed priorities.
• Enthusiasm for solving problems through data, technology and connecting the dots.
• Knowledge of vendors and technologies related to performance and data activities.

What makes you stand out:

• Proven track record of collaborating with Performance Teams and stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that address evolving business needs.
• Strong technical expertise in data wrangling, data creation, governance, integration, and interrogation—hands-on ability to define and implement data structures/models, data quality controls, and scalable datasets for analytics and reporting.
• Experience contributing to strategic visions and roadmaps for business change, ideally with a global or multi-regional scope.
• Exposure across investment asset classes and derivatives instruments.
• Knowledge of core data and technology topics (e.g., cloud, automation, AI/ML, emerging technologies)—ability to understand how data structures are represented and transformed across platforms, challenge/validate outputs end-to-end, and diagnose issues using targeted data wrangling and root-cause analysis.
• Certifications such as CFA and CAIA.

Why join our team:

• We help you be your best through professional development opportunities, interesting work and supportive leaders.
• We foster a vibrant and inclusive culture where you can collaborate with talented colleagues to create new solutions and have impact for colleagues, clients and communities.
• Our scale enables us to provide a range of career opportunities. 

Mercer is a business of Marsh (NYSE: MRSH), a global leader in risk, reinsurance and capital, people and investments, and management consulting, advising clients in 130 countries. With annual revenue of over $27 billion and more than 95,000 colleagues, Marsh helps build the confidence to thrive through the power of perspective. For more information about Mercer, visit mercer.com, or follow us on LinkedIn and X.Marsh is committed to embracing a diverse, inclusive and flexible work environment. We aim to attract and retain the best people and embrace diversity of age, background, disability, ethnic origin, family duties, gender orientation or expression, marital status, nationality, parental status, personal or social status, political affiliation, race, religion and beliefs, sex/gender, sexual orientation or expression, skin color, Traveller community, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to providing reasonable support to any candidate with a disability/health condition to allow them to fully participate in the recruitment process. We welcome candidates to contact us at [email protected] to discuss any specific needs.Marsh is committed to hybrid work, which includes the flexibility of working remotely and the collaboration, connections and professional development benefits of working together in the office. All Marsh colleagues are expected to be in their local office or working onsite with clients at least three days per week. Office-based teams will identify at least one “anchor day” per week on which their full team will be together in person.